Shutout Fortunes Flip on Columbus Despite Quality Start from Sears

A night after the Columbus Clingstones (14-12, 43-47) shut down the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (14-11, 50-44) in a 4-0 win on Friday, a pair of solo home runs proved to be enough for the Wahoos in the Clingstones' 2-0 shutout loss on Saturday. Pensacola guaranteed a series victory with its fourth win of the series.

Decisive Plays: A solo home run from Colby Shade launched Pensacola into the lead in the second inning. Brett Sears kept the Pensacola bats quiet until the sixth, when Brandon Compton hit a solo home run to make it 2-0. Columbus threatened on offense in the third after starter Alex Williams left the game with an injury, but reliever Holt Jones pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to keep a lid on Columbus. The tying run got to the plate in the ninth, but Jordan Groshans struck out swinging to end the game.

Key Contributors: Sears (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 7 SO) starred for Columbus while Ambioris Tavarez and Dalton McIntyre collected the Clingstones' only two hits. For Pensacola, Shade and Compton homered while Jones (4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO) provided nearly perfect emergency relief.

Notable: Columbus falls to 6-17 all-time at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Sears tied his career high in innings, matching 7.0 for the fourth time in his career and the first time in 2026. Columbus was shut out for the ninth time this season.

Next Game (Sunday, July 26): Columbus at Pensacola, 5:05 p.m. ET at Blue Wahoos Stadium. RHP Shay Schanaman (4-4, 5.49 ERA) will start for Columbus opposed by LHP Joey Volini (0-1, 9.00 ERA) for Pensacola. Radio Broadcast: 4:50 p.m. ET on SportsVisions 92.1 FM. Stream: Bally Sports Live.